How to increase your conversion rate is probably one of the hottest topics in the industry today. And for good reason—it’s the only way to grow your business.
So, let’s dive in and talk about how to do just that—grow your business.
What Is Conversion Rate?
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website or email recipients who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a webinar or newsletter.
For example, Ruler Analytics says the average conversion rate for b2c e-commerce email marketing is 2.2%.
The average landing page conversion rate across all industries is 2.35%, with e-commerce conversion rates hovering around 1.64% as of February 2023. This is down from a high of 2.13% in December 2022. If you’re in the pet care industry, you might enjoy a higher conversion rate of around 1.98%.
You’ll also want to track your conversion rate on your social selling sites.
But, this article focuses on website conversions.
A high conversion rate means visitors to your website respond favorably to your CTAs, which will increase sales and revenue and grow your business.
If your website visitors leave without purchasing, you won’t reach your revenue goals. So, how can you increase your conversion rate?
Optimize Your Website to Increase Your Conversion Rate
Make Your Website Easy To Use
The less complicated your website is, the more likely your customers will find what they need and make a purchase.
Too much information can be intimidating.
If your website visitors can’t quickly find what they need, they are likely to be frustrated and exit from your site without taking action.
Remember, less is more.
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- Reduce the number of pages.
- Simplify your website’s navigation menu.
- Group related pages under relevant categories.
- Make sure page tabs are organized logically.
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One way to do this is to put yourself in your customers’ shoes.
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- Imagine you are your ideal customer.
- You’ve seen a link to your website on your social media.
- Or, you used a search engine to find a product or service.
- You’ve come to your website.
- How does it feel?
- Can you find what you’re looking for?
- Do you have to click multiple pages to find your desired product or service?
- Does your website frustrate you?
- Are you anxious to get off and find another website?
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This can be a challenging exercise because you know your products and website. If you can’t be objective, find someone on your team who rarely visits the website or a friend, family member, or colleague.
Then take your findings and optimize the user experience to increase your conversions and grow your business.
Create A Visually Appealing Experience To Increase Your Conversions
A visually appealing and engaging landing page will keep your consumers on your site longer and motivate them to continue the buyer journey.
Choose a color palette that reflects your brand’s personality. Use colors that evoke emotions that inspire your visitors to linger on the page, learn more about you, and purchase a product or service.
Strategically align your element colors, especially critical elements such as CTAs and headings.
Be careful about the contrast between the background and your font colors so the text is readable on desktop and mobile.
Use high-resolution images that are engaging, entertaining, and relevant to your content. Incorporate mixed media, such as videos, slideshows, and other interactive elements, to keep your visitors entertained and engaged. Always confirm that your images load quickly and look the same on both a desktop and mobile device.
Whenever possible, use native video and images rather than stock images. You might have a small budget, but your audience isn’t looking for Hollywood videos. They’re looking for authenticity.
Use visuals to tell your brand’s story. A video on your landing page that tells your brand’s story and how your products or services help people is very effective and will increase dwell time.
Leave white space to enhance readability, allowing visitors to focus on critical elements.
Choose fonts that align with your brand’s personality. Be sure the fonts are readable on both desktop and mobile. Mix up the fonts for headings, subheadings, and body text.
Pay Attention To The Details
I put this last, but it’s the most important.
Ensure there are no mistakes in the text and that your content is authentic to your brand.
Be sure that your CTAs take your customers to the correct page and that the product or service is consistent with how it’s described on your landing page.
Make Sure Your Website Content Is Relevant To Your Target Audience
Everyone is not your customer.
Once you’ve identified your target audience and created customer personas, craft your website content to match. Covering “trending” topics can be tempting, but if it’s irrelevant to your customers, you’ll increase your bounce rate. Algorithms will tell the search engines that your website content is not helpful or authentic.
With paid advertising, you can overcome low search engine rankings, but why spend the money? It’s more efficient to focus on your website content and ensure that it speaks to your target audience and accurately reflects your offers.
Create Clear And Concise Calls To Action (CTAs)
Tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do and ensure they arrive on the appropriate page when they click the CTA.
Keep your CTAs concise. For example, “Click Here,” “Download Now,” “Submit,” “Buy Now,” or “Learn More.”
Highlight the value of the CTA. For instance, let’s say you want your customer to download your ebook. Above the “Download Now” button, briefly explain the value to them of your ebook. Perhaps the value is because it’s free. Or the value could be that it will save them tons of money or time.
You’ll know how to explain the value if you understand your audience and their pain points.
From time to time, you’ll want to use CTAs that express a sense of urgency. But, be strategic when using calls-to-action like “Last Chance,” “Limited Time,” etc. Overuse of these CTAs can turn your customers off.
Lastly, remember your website copy is not set in stone. Conduct A/B testing to compare variations of CTAs. Analyze outcomes and pivot when necessary.
Use Persuasive Copywriting
Be Clear About Who You Are And What You Do
Your landing page copy should provide immediate information about your brand, your vision and mission, what you offer, and why.
Everything a potential customer needs to know about you to decide whether to do business with you should be obvious immediately upon arriving on your landing page. This is critical because you want to keep your bounce rate as low as possible.
Provide A Compelling Value Proposition
Clearly communicate your products’ or services’ benefits to your target audience.
On your landing page, focus less on product features and more on the problems your products or services solve. Keep the copy customer-focused and written so they’re inspired to want to learn more. Once they reach your product page, you can get more specific about the features.
Add social proof. Incorporate testimonials, success stories, and reviews to build trust with your consumer audience. Studies prove that buyers trust other buyers more than what the brand says. Place these social proofs throughout your website, especially near your CTAs.
Use Compelling Headlines To Increase Your Conversion Rate
Most people today don’t read text; they skim. Your website visitors will likely bounce around on your headlines.
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- Make sure the headlines are attention-grabbing and compelling.
- Use powerful, emotional words that inspire them to stop skimming and want to read the details.
- Experiment with different headline styles, such as questions, numbers, lists, or statements.
- Assess what resonates the most with your audience and optimize accordingly.
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Speak Directly To Your Customers
Make your content personal, using “you” as much as possible. Speak in the language your customers use and address their pain points. You want them to know that you “get them.” Incorporate storytelling in your copy. Stories are incredibly persuasive. Creating narratives about your brand and your products or services builds trust. It helps to develop long-term relationships with your audience.
Convince Your Visitors To Take Action
Using power words is one way to increase your conversion rate. Based on the information you’ve gathered about your target audience, incorporate power words such as “discover,” “proven,” “cutting-edge,” “transformative,” “unleash,” “unlock,” or “guaranteed.”
Offer Incentives to Increase Your Conversion Rate
Most of your customers will be sitting on the fence, weighing the benefits of what you offer against what other brands offer. So, let’s nudge them a little.
Offer incentives such as free shipping or discounts.
Another way to increase your conversion rate and improve customer retention is to offer frequent buyer gift cards. But rather than restrict your customers to your brand, provide a gift card they can use anywhere, such as the supermarket or gas station. You will convey that you genuinely appreciate their loyalty and that you’re not just about making more sales. Not only will you have long-term customers, but they’ll be willing ambassadors for your brand.
Track Your Results
As mentioned earlier in this article, your website copy is not set in stone. Think of it as a breathing, evolving ecosystem.
Set KPIs relevant to your business goals.
Constantly track your metrics so that you know what’s working.
Use Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Hotjar, or other analytical platforms that provide vital information such as bounce rate, dwell time, clicks, most frequently visited pages, and your conversion rate.
Experiment, measure, and pivot when necessary.
Bottom Line
With only a few tweaks and attention to detail, you can turn your website into a revenue-generating engine. Increasing your conversion rate is the easiest way to grow your business. It’s worth it to dedicate time to consistently improve your website to create an engaging and frictionless shopping experience for your customers.
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- Optimize your website
- Create clear and concise CTAs
- Use persuasive copywriting
- Offer incentives
- Track your results
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**What strategies are you using to increase your conversion rate? Let us know in the content box below. If you’re not already a subscriber, head over to the box and sign up now. And please follow us on our social media channels, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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